P&Z Approves Warehouse In Curtis Corp Park

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has approved the construction of a warehouse on Turnberry Lane in Curtis Corporate Park in Sandy Hook.

At an April 11 session, P&Z members approved a special permit to construct a 24,175-square-foot warehouse for E&R Commercial, LLC, at 10 Turnberry Lane. Up to five individual tenants would be allowed to use the warehouse space.

The P&Z is requiring the applicant to plant two different types of evergreen greens on the building lot to create visual screening for the warehouse. Evergreens that are planted at the rear of the building adjacent to the Quarry Ridge Estates residential subdivision must be at least 14 feet tall.

The applicant has agreed comply with aesthetic recommendations for the warehouse that were made by the town’s Design Review Board.

The industrial park is located within the town’s environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD), which lies above the Pootatuck Aquifer. Consequently, development there is subject to many environmental constraints.

Among those requirements, the applicant must: file an aquifer impact assessment for each tenant in the warehouse; submit a policy on how the property will be managed to prevent environmental damage to the aquifer; post that policy on the site; closely regulate garbage disposal; and prohibit the permanent outdoor storage and/or maintenance of commercial vehicles and construction equipment, among various other restrictions.

Borghesi Building & Engineering Company, Inc, of Torrington would construct the warehouse.    

At a March 16 public hearing on the warehouse proposal, several Fir Tree Lane residents, who live near Curtis Corporate Park, raised concerns over nighttime illumination at the industrial park.